TORONTO, April 26, 2013 /CNW/ - Dr. Anna Reid, CMA president, spoke at the Economic Club of Canada today about the root social causes of poor health, the value of our health care system and the need to pull together to bring about transformative change for the benefit of all Canadians.
"Where we spend our money matters - and as we look to transform health care we need to take a hard look at ensuring that as a nation we are getting all we can from our health care system," said Dr. Reid. "Businesses look at their return on investment. When it comes to health, what is our society's return on investment in health, and how do we improve it?"
She also described the Canadian Medical Association's dialogue with Canadians. Online (dialogue.healthcaretransformation.ca) and at public town halls, the CMA is seeking Canadians' views on the impact on their health of social factors such as income, housing and culture. "How healthy you are depends less on the health care system than on your life circumstances," said Dr. Reid. "As a society, we need to look more closely at the upstream factors that lead to poor health in the first place."
Dr. Reid encouraged the business community to play a role in bringing about change to Canada's health care system. "Canada's health and social services provide an important international competitive advantage to business," she said. "A healthy population is a key asset of a healthy economy, strong communities and a strong country."
The federal government needs to be a catalyst in developing a pan-Canadian vision and plan for creating an accountable, patient-centred, efficient and effective system that can meet Canadians' needs, Dr. Reid said. "Year after year, in poll after poll, Canadians have said that health care should be the top public priority for governments."
Dr. Reid noted that Canada's physicians are doing their part to transform health care. She cited as examples the innovative approaches of Toronto geriatrician Dr. Samir Sinha, who initiated a house calls program at Mount Sinai Hospital, and Dr. Mike Evans, with his massively popular online videos about health.
The Canadian Medical Association (CMA) is the national voice of Canadian physicians. Founded in 1867, the CMA is a voluntary professional organization representing more than 78,000 of Canada's physicians and comprising 12 provincial and territorial medical associations and 51 national medical organizations. CMA's mission is to serve and unite the physicians of Canada and be the national advocate, in partnership with the people of Canada, for the highest standards of health and health care.
Video with caption: "Video: Dr Anna Reid President, of the Canadian Medical Association, talking to the Economic Club of Canada in Toronto". Video available at: http://stream1.newswire.ca/cgi-bin/playback.cgi?file=20130426_C9197_VIDEO_EN_26076.mp4&posterurl=http://photos.newswire.ca/images/20130426_C9197_PHOTO_EN_26076.jpg&clientName=Canadian%20Medical%20Association&caption=Video%3A%20Dr%20Anna%20Reid%20President%2C%20of%20the%20Canadian%20Medical%20Association%2C%20talking%20to%20the%20Economic%20Club%20of%20Canada%20in%20Toronto&title=CANADIAN%20MEDICAL%20ASSOCIATION%20%2D%20CMA%20President%20makes%20the%20case%20for%20a%20strong%20return%20on%20investment%20in%20health&headline=CMA%20President%20makes%20the%20case%20for%20a%20strong%20return%20on%20investment%20in%20health
Image with caption: "Dr Anna Reid, President of the Canadian Medical Association, talking to the Economic Club of Canada in Toronto. (CNW Group/Canadian Medical Association)". Image available at: http://photos.newswire.ca/images/download/20130426_C9197_PHOTO_EN_26074.jpg
Image with caption: "Dr Anna Reid, President of the Canadian Medical Association, talking to the Economic Club of Canada in Toronto. (CNW Group/Canadian Medical Association)". Image available at: http://photos.newswire.ca/images/download/20130426_C9197_PHOTO_EN_26072.jpg
SOURCE: Canadian Medical Association
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